[39] Dr Scherzer (_Cruise of the "Novara"_) states that they were used for frightening away the devil and driving him into the sea. _Cf._, however, the _Ma-ya-kuv-ka-ma-ka_ of the Kar Nicobarese (p. 295); and also an old Kar Nicobarese custom: "In every village there is a high pole erected, with long strings of rattan hanging from it, which it is said has virtue to keep the devil at a distance" (Hamilton, _Asiatic Researches_, vol. ii.). On the other hand, Colebrooke (_Asiatic Researches_, vol. iv.), writes: "In front of the villages, and a little advanced in the water, they plant beacons of a great height, which they adorn with tufts made of grass or the bark of some tree. These objects are discernible at a great distance, and are intended probably as landmarks; their houses, which are overshadowed by thick groves of coconut trees, seldom being visible from afar." [40] These flags are made by the natives, and some of them are a legacy from the Danish occupation--a white St George's cross on a red ground, with a double-ended fly. [41] Fontana mentions the palm leaves and other branches decorating the hut doors at festivals, 1778. [42] Colebrooke, _Asiatic Researches_, vol. iv. [43] "The Danes have long maintained a small settlement at the place which stands on the northernmost point of Nankauri within the harbour. A sergeant and three or four soldiers, a few black slaves, and two rusty pieces of ordnance, compose the whole. They have here two houses, one of which, entirely built of wood, is their habitation; the other, formerly inhabited by the missionaries, serves now for a storehouse."--Colebrooke, _Asiatic Researches_, vol. iv. [44] Malacca. [45] "The large, neatly-made bundles of trimmed billets of wood, have always been mistaken for firewood, even by Pastor Rosen, who spent three or four years in the Harbour. They are, however, made merely to serve as offerings, and are rolled on to a grave of some relative or friend. They are supposed to represent a substantial token of affection and regard as they take much trouble to make. Their bundles of firewood are also cylindrical, but consist of dry scraps of wood picked up in the jungle and tied round with pieces of cane."--E. H. Man. [46] Canoes also are occasionally fed with chickens. [47] The white-bellied sea-eagle (_Cuncuma leucogaster_). [48] THE WHOLE OF THE NICOBARESE DANCE MUSIC. [Illustration: _Da Capo._ Fontana, _Asiatic Researches_, vol. iii.] It is extraordinary that people who are comparatively so far removed from savagedom, and so fond of dancing and singing, should have no musical instruments. They are acquainted with a kind of flute used by the Burmese, and a "guitar," but can show nothing of their own invention. Even the Andamanese, absolute savages as they are, possess a species of sounding-board, on which they beat time to their songs. [49] _I.e._, "my marry" = my wife.